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Farmers protest in Westminster over lack of support for food production

Alistair DriverBy Alistair DriverMarch 26, 20244 Mins Read
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More than 100 tractors descended on Westminster. Credit: @nofarmsnofood
More than 100 tractors descended on Westminster. Credit: @nofarmsnofood

A convoy of more than 100 tractors made its way through central London and past the Houses of Parliament as farmers protested against what they say is a lack of support for UK food production.

The demonstration was organised by Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent to highlight ‘the urgent need to protect food security, which is underpinned by our great British farming system’. Tractors and farm vehicles from Leicester, Billinghurst, West Sussex, Land Rovers from Lincolnshire and farmers from Northern Ireland are travelling to the capital to take part in the rally, according to Farmers Weekly.

It reported that the organisers had three main demands of government, opposition MPs and the civil service:

  • Ban substandard food imports which are flooding the UK market due to “inadequate” import controls and bad Brexit/World Trade Organization trade deals
  • Ban dishonest food labelling – currently, imported food can be labelled with a Union flag if it us processed and packed here
  • Government must protect food security by launching a national food plan and ditching bad trade deals.

SBF founder and rally organiser Liz Webster told Farmers Weekly: “The government promised that taking back control would deliver a golden era for British farming.

“In truth, British farmers are being pushed to extinction. If we don’t rise up and fight back, we will become reliant on imported foods, which leave us open to being held to ransom by other countries – a decision that none of us should feel comfortable with.”

  • You can view a video on the demonstration by Farmers Weekly’s Philip Case HERE
  • You can view a report by Sky News HERE

The demonstration, which followed recent protests on Wales, alongside smaller ones in Dover, and farmer-led protests right across Europe, generated a lot of media coverage, online and on social media.

The BBC reported that many of the farmers made their way into London from Kent, flying Union flags made their way across London and through Westminster, carrying signs with slogans such as ‘Save British farming’ and ‘No farming, no food, no future’.

“I’m a third generation farmer. I’m here for my future,” Ben Stickland, 21, from West Sussex, told BBC News. “There are multiple nails being put into this coffin built around us.”

Colin Rayner, who has 2,000 acres of arable land across east Berkshire and south Buckinghamshire, told the BBC that he had ‘no choice’ but to protest, saying that business was so bad that ‘this could be our last harvest’.

“We have been, as most farmers have been, living in our overdraft now for the last five years. We can’t see it getting any better – yields have plateaued, prices are dismal, our costs for raw materials are horrendous and the regulations that we have everyday are mindboggling,” he said.

Mr Rayner said the environmental focus of the government’s farm payments scheme, which replaced EU subsidies, was coming at the expense of domestic food production while cheap imports were being produced to lower standards.

SBF, in conjunction with the think tank Open Britain, has launched an online petition calling for political action to protect British farmers and food standards.

Farming minister Mark Spencer, who yesterday announced measures to limit land being take out of food production for SFI, said: “We firmly back our farmers. British farming is at the heart of British trade, and we put agriculture at the forefront of any deals we negotiate, prioritising new export opportunities, protecting UK food standards and removing market access barriers.

“We’ve maintained the £2.4bn annual farming budget and recently set out the biggest ever package of grants which supports farmers to produce food profitably and sustainably.

“We are also looking at ways to further improve fairness in the supply chain, and have launched a consultation to make food labelling fairer, supporting British farmers and growers and ensuring high-quality British produce get the recognition they deserve.”

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Alistair Driver

Editor Pig World, group editor Agronomist and Arable Farmer and Farm Contractor. National Pig Association webmaster. Former political editor at Farmers Guardian. Occasional media pundit. Brought up on a Leicestershire farm. Works from a shed in his Oxfordshire garden.

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